Missouri Credit Union Association - St. Louis Business Journalhttps://www.mcua.org/taxonomy/term/341
enSTL Business Journal Highlights Credit Unionshttps://www.mcua.org/node/2525
<a href="/node/2525"><img class="teaserimage" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.mcua.org/sites/default/files//styles/thumbnail/public/Logos/stl-biz-journal.jpg?itok=SMGgHeVJ" alt="STL Business Journal Highlights Credit Unions" title="STL Business Journal Highlights Credit Unions" /></a><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>On June 5, the <em>St. Louis Business Journal</em> featured several articles about credit unions. One spotlighted the many resources credit unions put into protecting their members’ financial identities, while another asked credit union presidents to weigh in on topics like membership trends and new initiatives.</p>
<p>Read below for a brief summary of each article.</p>
<p><strong>Focus on Fraud Protection</strong></p>
<p>In the article “<a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/print-edition/2015/06/05/small-credit-unions-fraud-protection-costs-add-up.html" target="_blank">Small Credit Unions: Fraud Protection Costs Add Up</a>,” both small and large credit union representatives explained how they protect their members from fraud and identity theft.</p>
<p>Some larger credit unions are investing in the new, more secure chip card. The chip card costs nearly twice as much as a debit card with a magnetic strip, but it’s necessary to keep up with bigger banks with more resources.</p>
<p>“There are lots of new and ongoing technological methods to prevent fraud and as a large financial institution we know our members expect us to be just as tech savvy as our banking peers,” says Laura Alfeldt, vice president of marketing for First Community Credit Union (Chesterfield). “We plan to spend $250,000 this year alone on enhanced fraud products for members like the chip card and CardNav.”</p>
<p>Smaller credit unions also focus on fraud protection. Steve Poniewaz, vice president of operations for First Missouri Credit Union (Lemay Ferry), shared that the credit union spends a lot of time protecting members. Members’ accounts are monitored on a 24-hour basis for fraudulent activity. In major instances of fraud, the credit union issues new debit cards to members.</p>
<p>“The Schnuck’s breach cost us just under $30,000 total with about $25,000 in losses and $5,000 in hard cost for re-issuing the cards to all members,” says Poniewaz.</p>
<p>Liz Adams, SVP of member relations for the Missouri Credit Union Association, said small credit unions would still use the same service providers as a larger credit union. Being smaller, they would also be more likely to know all the members and detect problems more quickly.</p>
<p><strong>Q&amp;A with Credit Union Presidents</strong></p>
<p>The <em>St. Louis Business Journal </em>asked four credit union presidents to weigh in on membership trends, new initiatives and biggest threats to credit unions. Participating credit union presidents included: Bob McKay, of Anheuser-Busch Employees’ Credit Union (St. Louis); Larry Pixley, of Gateway Metro Federal Credit Union (Affton); Frank Padak, of Scott Credit Union (Edwardsville, Ill.); Eric Acree, of Vantage Credit Union (Bridgeton).</p>
<p>Overall, credit unions reported growth in membership—ABECU reported a growth of 5%, Scott Credit Union grew in excess of 10% and Vantage saw more than 12% overall membership growth.</p>
<p>Efforts to attract new members center around technology—the presidents overwhelmingly responded that their credit unions offer online services and have worked to create apps and mobile access for members.</p>
<p>Regulatory burden was cited as a major concern for credit unions.</p>
<p>“We recently had to outsource some of our mortgage lending operations due to new regulations. Not only are these regulations an added cost to the credit union, but it also takes away our ability to maintain quality control,” says Pixely.</p>
<p>If you subscribe to the <em>St. Louis Business Journal</em>, you can access the full article <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/print-edition/2015/06/05/round-tablecredit-unions-add-members-lament-new.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p><em>Caption: Photo of Steve Poniewaz, of First Missouri Credit Union, by Dilip Vishwanat that accompanied the St. Louis Business Journal story.&nbsp;</em></p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-vocab-community field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Vocab Community:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/199" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">new</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/341" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">St. Louis Business Journal</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/1995" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">First Community Credit Union</a></div></div></div>Tue, 16 Jun 2015 13:42:33 +0000Nora Holloway2525 at https://www.mcua.orghttps://www.mcua.org/node/2525#commentsNeighbors, First Community Lending Experts Talk Real Estatehttps://www.mcua.org/node/2397
<a href="/node/2397"><img class="teaserimage" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.mcua.org/sites/default/files//styles/thumbnail/public/images/chris-smith-biz-journals.jpg?itok=LisJVecn" alt="Neighbors, First Community Lending Experts Talk Real Estate" title="Neighbors, First Community Lending Experts Talk Real Estate" /></a><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Recently, the&nbsp;<em>St. Louis Business Journal </em>gathered several local&nbsp;lending experts to talk about the state of residential real estate. Credit unions were represented by Chris Smith, of&nbsp;Neighbors Credit Union, and Joy Weeks, of First Community Credit Union.</p>
<p>Smith is the mortgage manager for Neighbors Credit Union. He was instrumental in restructuring and expanding the mortgage department in 2013—now the entire mortgage process is completed in house.&nbsp;Weeks is the senior vice president of Lending for First Community. She has worked in retail at the credit union for 20 years, beginning as a teller and breaking into management.</p>
<p>When asked if the residential real estate market has recovered, both Smith and Weeks responded positively.</p>
<p>“Overall, we’re seeing a good stabilization of the market right now for St. Louis,” says Smith. “We’re seeing investors coming in and kind of creating a floor in the pricing in some pockets of the area to kind of help stabilize and support growth.”</p>
<p>Weeks shared that jumbo loans have tripled for First Community and they’re seeing the market shift from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market.</p>
<p>The <em>St. Louis Business Journal </em>also asked why lenders sell their loans and how that impacts consumers.</p>
<p>“We sell our loans to Fannie Mae, but we sell them because we’re trying to manage the interest risk part of it, but we retain the servicing,” says Weeks. “So when our members walk into our doors, their mortgage is still on our books.”</p>
<p>Smith explained that lenders might also sell loans to free up room on their balance sheets, which means there’s more capital for other lending products. He suggested consumers seek out a lender that will continue to service their loans, regardless of if their loans have been sold.</p>
<p>“We also service loans, which is very unfamiliar in the industry,” says Smith. “So that way, you’re taking care of your customer or member from the day you sign the application until they pay off the loan.”&nbsp;</p>
<p>For the entire&nbsp;article, <a href="http://digital.bizjournals.com/launch.aspx?eid=93eb7db8-b3d3-45c9-966a-d13c2e1bf476&amp;loc=pcmod" target="_blank">check out the digital edition</a>. You must have a subscription to read the entire piece.</p>
<p><em>Caption: Smith and Weeks weigh in on the state of residential real estate in a </em>St. Louis Business Journal <em>piece. Images appeared in the article.&nbsp;</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-vocab-community field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Vocab Community:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/199" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">new</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/341" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">St. Louis Business Journal</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3692" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Joy Week</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3693" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Chris Smith</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/1995" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">First Community Credit Union</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/1941" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Neighbors Credit Union</a></div></div></div>Tue, 28 Apr 2015 14:21:53 +0000Nora Holloway2397 at https://www.mcua.orghttps://www.mcua.org/node/2397#commentsSTL, KC Business Journals Rank Largest Credit Unionshttps://www.mcua.org/node/2393
<a href="/node/2393"><img class="teaserimage" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.mcua.org/sites/default/files//styles/thumbnail/public/images/the-list-logo.jpg?itok=EfTSWfUP" alt="STL, KC Business Journals Rank Largest Credit Unions" title="STL, KC Business Journals Rank Largest Credit Unions" /></a><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>This week, the <em>Kansas City Business Journal </em>and the <em>St. Louis Business Journal</em> released lists of the largest credit unions in their respective areas.</p>
<p>The <em>Kansas City Business Journal</em> researched the list locally and ranked them by assets:</p>
<ol>
<li>CommunityAmerica Credit Union (Lenexa, Kan.)</li>
<li>Mazuma Credit Union (Overland Park, Kan.)</li>
<li>Mainstreet Credit Union (Lenexa, Kan.)</li>
<li>Quest Credit Union (Lenexa, Kan.)</li>
<li>United Consumers Credit Union (Independence, Mo.)</li>
</ol>
<p>Subscribers can view&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/subscriber-only/2015/04/24/credit-unions.html">the full list here</a>. The publication also featured Brandon Michaels, CEO of Mazuma and focused on the credit union’s commitment to growth and expanding its horizons. He discussed how the visibility of the new headquarters (Overland Park) accomplishes this.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"We also wanted to be in a high-growth area," says Michaels.&nbsp;"If we were going to spend millions of dollars constructing a new building, we didn’t want it just tucked in an office park somewhere. We wanted it to be a billboard for us. We also wanted ease of access.”</p>
<p>To read the full story, <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/print-edition/2015/04/24/list-extra-credit-union-is-committed-to-growth-in.html">click here</a>. You must have a subscription to read the full article.</p>
<p>Also researched locally, the <em>St. Louis Business Journal </em>ranked the largest 25 credit unions by deposits as of December 31, 2014. The top five included:</p>
<ol>
<li>First Community Credit Union (Chesterfield, Mo.)</li>
<li>Anheuser-Busch Employees’ Credit Union (St. Louis, Mo.)</li>
<li>Scott Credit Union (Edwardsville, Il.)</li>
<li>Vantage Credit Union (Bridgeton, Mo.)</li>
<li>1st MidAmerica Credit Union (Bethalto, Ill.)</li>
</ol>
<p>The <em>St. Louis Business Journal </em>also highlighted two credit union presidents from the list, Eric Acree, CEO of Vantage Credit Union, and Brian Eyestone, CEO of Southpointe Credit Union.</p>
<p>Acree shared that Vantage Credit Union experienced exceptional growth in 2014.</p>
<p>“A positive trend for credit unions remains our popularity with our member-owners, but also with the general public,” says Acree. “We put people, not profits, first. This approach resonates with consumers and is why we have seen healthy membership growth in recent years. During 2014, Vantage Credit Union welcomed thousands of new members, adding roughly 12 percent to our membership.”</p>
<p>When asked about the challenges to credit unions, Eyestone explained that there were several that credit unions faced—a major concern deals with merchant data breaches.</p>
<p>“When merchants like Home Depot, Target and Schnucks get hacked, the financial institutions are left to pay the losses suffered by their customers or members, including reimbursing fraudulent charges to checking accounts or credit accounts, blocking and issuing new debit and credit cards and time staff must spend resolving fraudulent activity.”</p>
<p>To read the full list, <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/subscriber-only/2015/04/24/credit-unions.html">click here</a>. You must have a subscription to access it.&nbsp;</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-vocab-community field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Vocab Community:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/199" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">new</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2500" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">largest credit unions</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/341" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">St. Louis Business Journal</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2843" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Kansas City Business Journal</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/1954" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mazuma Credit Union</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/1996" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Southpointe Credit Union</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/1932" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Vantage Credit Union</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/526" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">st. louis</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3691" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Kansas</a></div></div></div>Fri, 24 Apr 2015 16:14:00 +0000Nora Holloway2393 at https://www.mcua.orghttps://www.mcua.org/node/2393#commentsAssociate, Affliate Credit Unions Make the "Largest" Listhttps://www.mcua.org/node/1604
<a href="/node/1604"><img class="teaserimage" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.mcua.org/sites/default/files//styles/thumbnail/public/teaserimage/thumb.png?itok=GrZAsnqv" alt="Associate, Affliate Credit Unions Make the &quot;Largest&quot; List" title="Associate, Affliate Credit Unions Make the &quot;Largest&quot; List" /></a><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>The <em>St. Louis Business Journal</em> recently compiled a list of the largest credit unions in the St. Louis area, as ranked by deposits. It included First Community Credit Union, Anheuser-Busch Employees' Credit Union (and American Eagle Credit Union), Scott Credit Union, Vantage Credit Union, 1st MidAmerica Credit Union, Neighbors Credit Union, St. Louis Community Credit Union, 1st Financial Federal Credit Union, Arsenal Credit Union, Alliance Credit Union, West Community Credit Union, Electro Savings Credit Union, Catholic &amp; Community Credit Union, Century Credit Union, Laclede Community Credit Union, First Missouri Credit Union, Purina Credit Union, Health Care Family Credit Union, APEX&nbsp;Financial Credit Union, Altonized Community Credit Union, Missouri Valley Federal Credit Union and Southpointe Credit Union.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">In addition to </span><a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/subscriber-only/2013/11/15/credit-unions-deposits-2013.html" style="line-height: 1.3em;" target="_blank">this list</a><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">, the feature also highlighted a number of interesting credit union figures and an interview with Dave Osborn, president and CEO of </span>Anheuser-Busch<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> Employees’ Credit Union and American Eagle Credit Union.</span></p>
<p>Nicholas Ledden, of the <em>St. Louis Business Journal</em>, reported that these credit unions’ combined deposits totaled approximately $7.27 billion as of June 30, 2013. Their combined volume of loans outstanding was at $5.23 billion as of June 30.</p>
<p>The list included a section dedicated to the credit unions that had the greatest percent change in total assets from June 30, 2012 to June 30, 2013. The top five “gainers” on this particular list included Missouri Valley Federal Credit Union (9.98%), Health Care Family Credit Union (9.15%), West Community Credit Union (7.51%), Scott Credit Union (6.21%) and First Community Credit Union (4.75%).</p>
<p>The interview with Osborn touched on topics like loan growth at credit unions, new branch locations, and even the credit union tax exemption status.</p>
<p>“Last year and early this year, the upward loan growth trend was fueled by mortgage refinances but that business was reduced as a result of the Fed talking about raising rates,” answers Osborn, when asked what drove the loan growth over the last few quarters. “Currently, our loan growth is being driven by vehicle lending and the demand from our members for new and used auto loans.”</p>
<p>The interview can be viewed <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/print-edition/2013/11/15/qa---j-david-osborn-ceo.html" target="_blank">here</a> by subscribers of the <em>St. Louis Business Journal</em>.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-vocab-community field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Vocab Community:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/199" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">new</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/341" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">St. Louis Business Journal</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2500" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">largest credit unions</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2501" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">deposits</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2410" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">loans</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2502" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Dave Osborn</a></div></div></div>Mon, 25 Nov 2013 20:07:55 +0000Nora Holloway1604 at https://www.mcua.orghttps://www.mcua.org/node/1604#commentsFirst Community Included in "Largest Mortgage Lenders" Listhttps://www.mcua.org/node/1603
<a href="/node/1603"><img class="teaserimage" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.mcua.org/sites/default/files//styles/thumbnail/public/teaserimage/thumb.png?itok=GrZAsnqv" alt="First Community Included in &quot;Largest Mortgage Lenders&quot; List" title="First Community Included in &quot;Largest Mortgage Lenders&quot; List" /></a><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><em>The St.&nbsp;Louis Business Journal</em> recently&nbsp;published “Largest Mortgage Lenders,” a list ranked by volume of local home purchase loans and refinances.</p>
<p>First Community Credit Union was ranked as ninth,&nbsp;with nearly $355 million in originations last year.</p>
<p>“It’s great to see First Community recognized among mortgage lenders,” says Glenn D. Barks, president and CEO of First Community. “Home ownership is still the American dream and it’s great to make that happen for people and gain them as members at the same time.”</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">To view the full list, please visit the <a href="http://http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tFkFHeWu16cJ:www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/subscriber-only/2013/11/08/mortgage-lenders-2013.html+&amp;cd=1&amp;hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&amp;gl=us" target="_blank"><em>St. Louis Business Journal</em>'s website</a>. Log on credentials will be required to view the whole list.&nbsp;</span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-vocab-community field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Vocab Community:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/199" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">new</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/1995" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">First Community Credit Union</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2499" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mortgage lenders</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/341" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">St. Louis Business Journal</a></div></div></div>Thu, 21 Nov 2013 23:52:15 +0000Nora Holloway1603 at https://www.mcua.orghttps://www.mcua.org/node/1603#commentsNelson Selected as Forty Under Forty Recipienthttps://www.mcua.org/node/228
<a href="/node/228"><img class="teaserimage" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.mcua.org/sites/default/files//styles/thumbnail/public/teaserimage/thumb.png?itok=GrZAsnqv" alt="Nelson Selected as Forty Under Forty Recipient" title="Nelson Selected as Forty Under Forty Recipient" /></a><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>1st Financial Federal Credit Union (Wentzville) President/CEO, Frank Nelson, has been selected as one of the St. Louis area business professionals to be named as “Forty Under Forty” by <em>St. Louis Business Journal</em>.</p>
<p>Nelson, who holds Bachelor degrees in Business and History from the University of Pittsburgh, as well as an MBA from the University of Missouri at St. Louis, took on the role of President of 1st Financial Federal Credit Union in September 2009 and helped improve revenue and earnings over the past two years. He was chosen out of a list of over 450 nominees for his dedication to the credit union while making a difference in his community.</p>
<p>“I am honored to be recognized by the <em>St. Louis Business Journal</em>. This recognition would not be possible without the incredible talent at 1st Financial helping me to implement our mission of becoming the best overall value in banking in St. Louis.” stated Nelson.</p>
<p>Recently, Nelson was appointed to the Examination and Supervision Subcommittee for the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) to assist the credit union industry with the ever changing regulations impacting credit union leaders and members. In addition to his broad financial acumen and leadership strengths, Frank also makes time for volunteering. He currently serves on his parish council as well as a Board member for Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) of Greater St. Louis.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-vocab-community field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Vocab Community:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/340" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Frank Nelson</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/174" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">1st Financial Federal</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/341" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">St. Louis Business Journal</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/342" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">40 under 40</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/199" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">new</a></div></div></div>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:27:25 +0000Anonymous228 at https://www.mcua.orghttps://www.mcua.org/node/228#comments